Opinion: Announcing the hope for goodness in the world in 2019

People pile up wooden pallets prior to the traditional bonfire of New Year eve on the beach of Scheveningen, on Dec. 30, 2018. Two dutch villages compete in building the biggest fire which will be lit on new years eve.(Photo: Koen Van Weel, AFP/Getty Images)

Politicians are beginning to announce that they will be running for the presidency. Birds announce the coming of spring. In book three of Walt Whitman’s famous poem “Leaves of Grass,” he announced his existence to the world and how significant a single blade of grass is to the observant eye:

I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loaf and invite my soul,

I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

In the Hebrew Bible there is a celebration of the arrival of the Queen of Sheba: “with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold, and precious stones (1 Kings 10:2).” Sheba came to visit King Solomon with a caravan of valuable gifts, perhaps on a trading mission. It is written that “Never again came such an abundance of spices” (10:10; II Chron. 9:1-9).

In the spring of last year, our son Michael and our daughter-in-law Lauren invited Roe and me for a tour of Greenwich Village to celebrate Roe’s birthday. Lauren is a teacher in the public schools in the village; Michael is a fireman in the highly esteemed Jersey City Fire Department.

“Dad, we know how much you like to visit the homes of writers,” Michael said as he explained that Greenwich Village is replete with the history of many writers, and we could, at least, walk past their homes and read historical plaques. And that is what we did.

We saw the home of Edgar Allan Poe at 85 W. Third St., where he wrote his famous poem about the raven, some visitor … tapping at his chamber door.

Michael consulted his map and took us to 14 W. 10th St., once the home of Mark Twain. The first words of Huckleberry Finn’s arrival were: “You don’t know about me without you have read a book called 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' but that ain’t no matter.”

But it mattered to us, because Twain was introducing one of the greatest books in American literature.

Influential poet Walt Whitman lived for 20 years in Camden, where he finished his epic poem Leaves of Grass. He was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2009.(Photo: AP)

For some reason, Michael was nearly bouncing with delight as he took his mother and father from house to house. I said to Lauren that Michael seemed to be in such a good mood, and she said, “He’s been looking forward to taking you and Roe on this tour.”

The four of us walked down Patchin Place, off 10th Street between Greenwich Avenue and the Avenue of the Americas.

In Cummings’ famous poem, a little lame balloon man blows a whistle to announce to the children that he is in the neighborhood, and it is spring and he is selling balloons, and the children come running.

While I was walking ahead with Michael, he turned to me and said, “We have a great birthday cake for Mom.”

The tour was over. We took the PATH subway back to Michael and Lauren’s apartment in Jersey City. As we sat at the dining room table reminiscing about our day, Michael stepped out of the kitchen with a birthday cake topped with many birthday candles.

Michael placed the cake on the table, and as Roe leaned over to blow out the candles she paused and looked at the cake and at the blue swirled inscription: "Happy Birthday Grandma." Roe paused again. I looked at the inscription with a puzzled eye, and then Roe exploded with glee!

“What! Grandma? What? Grandma!”

And then it also sank into my mind. Roe and I were having our first grandchild, and that is how Michael and Lauren announced the news; that is why Michael was chortling all day long during our house tours.

On Nov. 12, 2018, Finnian Chai de Vinck was born: 7 pounds, 3 ounces.

This was far better news than politicians vying for attention. Whitman may have celebrated the arrival of himself, but the de Vinck family celebrated the birth of a boy with lots of hair. I understand the Queen of Sheba brought gems and spice as gifts to the king, but Michael and Lauren brought Finn into the world, a gift to us all, far more precious and valuable than gold and diamonds.

Finnian came tapping, tapping at the chamber door of life. The little lame balloon man whistled far and wee to announce the sale of his balloons, but when Finnian let out his first cry, he announced the beginning of yet another life, another hope for goodness added to this coming new, tumultuous year.

Christopher de Vinck is a freelance writer and motivational speaker who lives in Pompton Plains.

Buddhists take a selfie during New Year celebrations at Jogyesa Buddhist temple in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon).(Photo: Ahn Young-joon, AP)